September completion date for Clancy statue

A LIFE-size statue of internationally renowned uilleann piper Willie Clancy should be ready for viewing in September.

Initially, it was hoped to have the statue of Miltown Malbay’s most famous son ready for the 2013 Willie Clancy Summer School. However, well-known sculptor Shane Gilmore said this arduous task has taken him longer than expected and he now anticipates it should be completed in September.

Shane expects the statue will be quite big, considering Willie was 6’2” in height and plans to have him sitting on a stool with his legendary uilleann pipes in his hand.

Having been commissioned by Barry Merrill and Judith Spencer Merrill, the sculptor visited Aras Oidhreacht An Chlár (OAC) last April to show a preliminary clay model of the bust of the statue to some of Willie’s old neighbours. The neighbours unanimously approved the likeness achieved by the sculptor.

The sculptor’s work is based on a series of photographs in OAC and from Willie Clancy’s family, as well as videos. The full statue will have him looking to the left, playing, which is the image the couple chose.

No decision has been taken yet where the statue will be erected in the seaside town, which this week is reverberating to the sound of flutes, fiddles, accordians, concertinas and especially uilleann pipes.

Willie possessed amazing talents – whistle player, flute player, singer, storyteller, philosopher and wit. He was particularly known for his mastery of that most complex of wind instruments – the uilleann pipes.

Barry and Judith commissioned Shane to do the full statue, having seen his work all over Clare, including the man at Sixmilebridge standing in the river, the hands at the Ennis cathedral, Mr Holland’s submarine in Liscannor and the statue in Ennistymon.

They also secured his services to recreate a full-size statute of St Cecelia, the patron of music, songwriters and singers, for their holiday cottage near Spanish Point.

While their home is in Dallas, Texas, the couple return to their second home regularly after falling in love with the art and music of the area. 1995 was the first year they visited Clare and as the visits increased every year, from 2005 on they spent a number of months in Spanish Point enjoying the music and the scenery.
Barry’s family is Irish on his mother’s side and his sister married into the Hehir clan.

“We just nestled in so comfortably, with the art and the music together. It was just the icing on the cake to have all our Hehir cousins over here. They had come over to all of our family things,” Judith said.

Judith was 12 when she first heard the uilleann pipes as the background music for the movie The Rising of the Moon. She became familiar with the sound in the ’90s, when her older brother played the fiddle.

“The first time I heard the pipes, it was like I heard the voice of an old uncle that I hadn’t met before. It was like some ancient beautiful voice. If I had been around in the day, I would have hit the road and followed them.

“There is something so bewitching, haunting and spiritually uplifting about the pipes. It’s brilliant. When I heard the pipes being played live, the hair went up on the back of my neck in a good way. We just absolutely fell in love with everything about the Willie Clancy Festival.”

Barry believes one of the main strengths and attractions of the summer school is the way it acts as a magnet for beginners, students and experienced players every year.

“I think it’s that sense of education that we saw in the spirit of all the people who are attending. There are now beginners’ classes for instruments. I was totally blown away by the fact that these are really serious musicians that not only come to go for class but that they are skilled before they even come here.

“We love the fact that, during the day, they go to class and in the afternoon we get to hear them and their teachers play. If there are two rooms, there are two sessions and if there are three rooms, there are three sessions, in every Miltown pub.

“The thrill is being able to hear these people, the sessions in the evening and especially the education class. The class we took was this one for people who didn’t practise their music. But every day Paddy Glackin introduced us to each instrument and showed us how the fiddle was played around the country in different tones.

“We had a sean-nós dancer one day, a sean-nós singer and then a piper. That’s education for us. It taught us how to appreciate the music even more and I think that all this embodies our joy of being here for the week,” he said.

Judith says their family knew Willie, their next-door neighbour worked with him, while their cousins from Mount Scott hired him to repair things. They all knew the man away from his music.

“This was the man with his bicycle and his little tool box on the back. They share the stories, the funny yarns. You cannot mention his name here, even away from the music, without smiles beaming on people’s faces. He was so beloved, not just for his music but because of the wit and the rascally nature of the man.

“Our next-door neighbour, Michael Egan, worked with him. Every time we turn around, somebody knows him personally and had him repair their door or window. Mickey Talty – Willie Clancy played at his wedding. Mickey Talty played with Willie all of their lives, they were childhood friends.

“So Mickey Talty has shared many stories with us as well. He’s down in Quilty but he comes on his tractor every day. They’ve all become very good friends. They love sharing stories about Willie Clancy. It’s been through their vicarious love of him, that we’ve come to love him as we do,” Judith concluded.